A good start to your business.

I wrote this article not so long ago, having already had the experience of an entrepreneur. Some moments in it are tips from one's own practice, others are the development of ideas, inference. But, I think, if, before starting the free swimming of an entrepreneur, someone gave me to read such material, I would have acted somewhat differently.

Intro

In this article you will find some recommendations, tips and explanations that will help you determine the direction of development of your business from the very beginning of its existence. We will look at three important aspects of any business:

• focus;
• differences;
• customers

Focus

Many entrepreneurs try to do everything for everyone. At the same time, none of them earn the reputation of a professional in something concrete. A clear idea of ​​what companies really are engaged in by such entrepreneurs is not formed among clients. And the ranks of the clients themselves are far from being slim - among them you can see both large companies and companies embodied in one single face. The focus is what helps to establish itself in the market. By and large, you can focus on either the type of client or the type of activity. Companies that provide a more or less complete range of services in a particular area can afford to focus on the client. Focus on the client - the desire to satisfy the maximum possible number of customer needs.

Example

• The carrier company can simultaneously provide warehouse services, and, say, packaging and packaging of certain types of cargo. In this case, its manager is free to choose a market segment for himself - with proper (and absolutely necessary) skill, he will get regular customers there. And regular customers - the key to success and stability of any business.

Focus on the type of activity - the lot or smaller players who, due to staffing constraints, cannot provide services in the complex, or professional players who want to be the best of the best and do not want to be sprayed on tasks indirectly related to their favorite business.

Example

• Design studio specializes in the development of printing products. In such a company, professionals who are able to make competent site layouts may work, for the design itself is contiguous in all aspects. However, the production of sites requires the presence in the staff of a web programmer, layout designer, system administrator, content manager, etc. Of course, there is outsourcing, but it is a risk to meet deadlines, get a poor quality product, and, ultimately, lose the reputation of a professional. So in such cases the focus on the type of activity is a logical and financially justified decision. In this case, no one bothers you later to expand the list of services / products provided and focus on customers.

If you are already on the market, analyze the experience gained. Do not rush to make a decision in favor of focus on the client or focus on the type of activity. Carefully review the profiles of your customers, find out what brings you more money: comprehensive services provided to a number of regular customers, or one-time orders that your company performs quickly and professionally. In addition, do not ignore your personal preferences - work that does not bring moral satisfaction is unlikely to bring financial satisfaction.

Differences

Most consumers believe that all firms in a particular area of ​​the economy are the same. Accordingly, the only difference between them is the price of the issue being solved. So if you fail to bring to the attention of the consumer those remarkable qualities and advantages that distinguish you from competitors, you are doomed to a constant price reduction. And for small businesses, this often means lack of funds for development. The focus on the type of activity, the narrow specialization described above is the difference. The application of the concept of "product + experience" - the difference. Application of the concept “product + bonus” is the difference. Freshly baked buns (straight from the office kitchen) at the meetings - the difference. In fact, to become different from the competition is quite simple. In traditional areas of production and services, the level of quality today is leveling off. Remember the Chinese goods about ten years ago. And look at Chinese products today. See the difference? Therefore, every detail that distinguishes you from your competitors in the eyes of the consumer is your competitive advantage.

Example

• You are developing sites. Your chosen focus - focus on the type of activity. Only online shopping, the best solutions of all. Own script, understandable GUI (graphic-user interface), plenty of features, tremendous flexibility, individual settings (with your own hands) for each client. What else can you offer to the customer? Free hosting for a year. 24-hour technical support. The user manual is not in .pdf, but printed in a print shop. The certificate in the box confirming the fact that the online store is made in your company - that is, by true professionals. With a similar narrow specialization, you can use any little thing to be better than your competitors.

Having developed your unique offers, you are simply obliged to bring them to the target audience. Your marketing message included in any ad should contain the essence of these offers. And best of all the advantages of your proposals show specific examples.

Customers

Having identified the target audience, you just select a group of people who you think your products / services may need. Now you need to turn this group into potential customers. And then - in real customers. Your marketing activities should be aimed precisely at turning representatives of the target audience who do not know anything about you into potential customers. Nowadays, trying to immediately sell something to the consumer is a flawed practice. First, the person / company must be interested in what you have to offer. Otherwise, you risk causing a rejection reaction in the consumer, because he is already “stuffed” with all sorts of advertising for your competitors. Good marketing is marketing in two moves. The first move is advertising, whose task is not to sell, but to interest. The second move - actions aimed at direct sale. Moreover, these actions are taken against those who are interested.

Example

• You are the owner of a car wash. Accordingly, your target audience is the owners of all dirty cars passing by your establishment. Given the nature of the business, there is little point in using media channels to advertise your services. At your disposal are nearby billboards, a billboard of your own making and banners that you can hang on the facade of the building. So, on your advertising media there must be something that will interest the car owner and force him to drop in on your car wash in order to wash the car. The easiest option is to develop a special offer with any bonus that comes with the carwash services, and to voice it in advertising.

After the "transformation" of a potential client into a real one, it is impossible to stop. The customer must become permanent. There are many ways to retain customers. Most of these methods have their own specifics, which makes them effective in a particular field of activity. But there are a couple of rules applicable in all industries:

1. do more for the client than you promise;
2. expand the list of services provided in each case.

To make more of the promised means to surprise the customer. At the same time, the “pleasantness” supplied with the product / service does not have to be expensive. Important in this matter is the factor of surprise, surprise. If you have chosen a certain bonus as one of the distinctions of your company, and the customer who first approached you has not yet come across this bonus, he can play the role of this pleasantness. But in the second treatment (as well as in subsequent ones) the typical bonus that distinguishes you from the competitors can no longer be presented as a surprise. Therefore, it is necessary to invent something in each case.

Example

• You are the head of a web development group described above that specializes in creating online stores. Already an established customer, you have provided free hosting for a period of 1 year and supplied it with a quality printed user manual. The customer is contacting you a second time - now he wants to make some modifications to the script. You do the work, and as a pleasant surprise, present him with a banner template that he can use to advertise his store online.

Outro

Some may say that, in theory, the above recommendations sound good, but in practice life dictates its own rules. It's a delusion. You create and develop business yourself, and it is up to you to decide how to do it. Life can adjust your plans. But it is better to adjust them yourself. At the same time, the strategic directions of development should not change.
via cornflake.ru